Thursday, April 3, 2008

Culture Shock

My friend Nick, who is going to school in Barcelona, has been trying to make the most of his time away by making a point of regularly doing something that he could not do here in Calgary. While the purpose is casual, he and his friends have formalized the idea by creating what they call 'the culture club'. I love this idea and, upon hearing it, it occured to it reminded me that I have not been making a priority of enjoying what this city has to offer.

An obvious starting point was the Glenbow Museum. My office is right across the street from it and, for the last seven years, I have walked past the display case and told myself 'I have got to go in and check it out...maybe next week'. And, low and behold, after seven years I had still not made the time. Today, that changed.

Time was scarce, so ambitions were kept simple. Today would be the second floor only. I've been to museums in big cities and I recognize that we just don't have access to the same resources here in Calgary. As such, I wasn't expecting to see anything anything mind blowing. The second floor has a small, but impressive, asian exhibit. The rest is aboriginally influenced, which is great. This is what makes the place unique.

My first clue might have been the Cher cassette tape underneath the plexiglass showcase. The mannequin in the rhinestone cowboy hat and fishnet stockings and holding leather whip should have been my next clues. But I'm not so swift, apparently. Hooper pointed me to a certain poster, a picture of which appears in this post. Then, finally, it became obvious...and undeniable. A gay aboriginal cowboy exhibit! For real? In Calgary?

I never expected that my first experience with culture shock would be so close to home.